


December

by rxckets



Category: Football RPF
Genre: English Premier League, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 05:40:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10915458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rxckets/pseuds/rxckets
Summary: It's a cold night in London, but things turn out alright.





	December

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this real quick for Heiam (championsleaguepanic@tumblr.com) as it is her birthday today!! Love you lots <3 <3 <3

December in London was cold. And maybe the cold wasn't so much of a problem, Gareth was used to cold, but God, the rain. Combine the two of those, and you got absolute hell.

Add alcohol to the mix, and Gareth was done for.

They were, indeed, in London, so it's not like he was too far from his place. He pitied the boys from up in Liverpool, Manchester. Why they were even at the stupid Christmas party, he would never know. In fact, he wasn't sure why there had been a Christmas party at all. It was only halfway through December, and it had mostly just been alcohol and music, anyway...

And now that it was over, most people passed out drunk or already home, Gareth was left to stand out in the freezing rain, no money on him, wondering how the hell to get home.

He swallowed hard and shivered, pulling his jacket closer to his body even if it was drenched in rain, too. His hair was plastered uncomfortably to his forehead, and he couldn't remember the last time that he had shivered so much.

Gareth wondered why he had let Giggs convince him to come, anyway. Despite being in London he was somehow the only one from his team who had been there, leaving him to awkwardly shadow the other Welshman and be persuaded into drinking, up until he left.

It was only when he heard his name that he realised that he had been standing outside in the same spot for maybe a good five minutes.

"Bale? What are doing, aren't you cold?"

He didn't have to turn around to see who it was, recognising the accent from the few times that they had spoken, but he did all the time.

"I... Yeah, I guess. I don't know. Just thinking about walking home."

Ronaldo rose an eyebrow at him."You're in Tottenham, aren't you? That's a hell of a long walk."

Curse London for being so big. He shrugged, holding a hand over his eyes to try to shield them from the rain a bit. "I'll manage. I am a footballer, you know."

Ronaldo laughed softly. "Right. Come on, I'm calling a cab, just come crash at my hotel for the night. Can't hurt, then you can get home when you're in a bit of a better shape?"

Some red flags shot up at the suggestion, but Gareth wasn't sure that he really had a better plan. He could see the headlines already. Him, going to a hotel together with Manchester United's up-and-coming star. "Alright."

When the cab showed up, Ronaldo opened the door for Gareth and he couldn't help but to smile as he got in, even if he was still feeling miserable.

After a minute or two, Ronaldo asked, "How much did you have to drink?"

He tried to think. "Not too much... I don't really drink, just, Giggsy was and I was there, so..."

Ronaldo nodded. "Me neither." Then, after another long pause, "You can call me Cris, by the way."

"Cris," Gareth repeated, savouring the feeling of the nickname in his mouh as he said it. He liked it. "I... You can call me Gareth, obviously. Or whatever. I don't mind too much."

"Alright." Cris smiled, a warm smile that did a lot to brighten up their hazy surroundings. "You played at Southampton before, yeah?"

"Yeah. And... you were in Portugal, somewhere, yeah?"

He laughed again. Gareth decided that he liked the sound of it. "Yes. Sporting Clube de Lisbon," he said, the Portuguese rolling off of his tongue with ease. "In Lisbon."

"I'd like to visit, one day. Portugal."

"Maybe one day, I'll have to take you."

..

When they got to the hotel, Gareth was rushed up to Cris' room, not wasting any time. That, he understood.

"You can take a shower if you want," Cris offered, but Gareth just shook his head.

"Thanks, but I think I'd rather just get to sleep."

"Me too."

Gareth was quick to peel off his wet jacket and shirt, not liking the cold, clammy feeling of his skin. He attempted to dry off and fix his hair in front of a mirror, but he decided eventually that that was a bridge that he would cross the next morning.

By the time he was ready to just get some sleep, Cris was already in the single bed, wearing just a pait of shorts. He looked over at Gareth curiously.

"You know... If you want you can share the bed with me, not like anybody will know."

Gareth nodded slightly, not able to formulate a response. No big deal, he figured, eventually going to sit down on the edge by Cris. He was quickly encouraged to lie down, though, and his body thanked him for it. "Thank you," he murmured.

"Hey, no problem." Cris pulled the white blanket over him, and Gareth would be lying to say that he didn't enjoy their close proximity. It was nice, knowing that he could just enjoy this, and that neither of them could say anything without destorying themselves, too. "You're really good, by the way."

"Hm?"

"Out on the pitch. As good as me? Maybe not, but can't blame you for that."

Gareth could only roll his eyes and grin at the teasing smirk that masked Cris' face. "Oh, whatever. You're not so cool just because you play in Manchester."

"We'll see. Maybe one day we'll get the chance to play together."

"Maybe," Gareth agreed. It was hard to say. He definitely wasn't against the notion, though.

"Well. Guess we can't call the future. We'll see," he said again. "I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning, Gareth echoed, letting his eyes flutter shut.

It was only a matter of seconds before he felt a gentle pair of lips against his forehead. Even that small action did well to warm him enough that he could forget about London's cold, rainy winters.

"Merry Christmas, Gareth."

And maybe it was only halfway through December, and the party had mostly just been alcohol and music, but if it was all leading up to this, he didn't mind one bit.

**Author's Note:**

> Drop any requests here or @ gareth-walker.tumblr.com!


End file.
